ENTRAR            

EDITORIAL

Community Nursing Research: Society in Transition

Sally Kendall
Professor of Nursing. Director, Centre for Research in Primary and Community Care. University of Hertfordshire (UK). Co-convenor, ICCHNR. Co-editor, Primary Health Care Research and Development

Enferm Comun 2006; 2(2)

How to cite this document

"WHO commends the commitment of nurses to care for all persons across the life cycle: pregnant women, infants, children, adolescents, adults and the elderly; and especially their commitment to vulnerable groups, such as the poor, refugees and displaced persons, street children ad the homeless"
Dr. Gro Harlem Bruntland, WHO, 2000

     The above quote signifies the importance of nursing to people's lives in today's global community. In particular, as health care systems strive to become increasingly efficient to support the growing costs of the aging population and people with long term conditions, nursing in the community is of great significance. It is in people's homes, community hospitals, local health centres and clinics that the majority of health care must take place over the coming decades in order to manage the rising costs of hospital care for our aging and chronically ill populations. But cost is only one factor in the health care equation, quality is the second factor that also must be considered as health care systems evolve to meet the needs of societies in transition. People are not willing to accept changes to their health care provision at any cost, least of all to reductions in quality of care. To balance the equation between cost and quality, we must have robust evidence that demonstrates that by improving quality of care in the community this will not be compromised by cost and vice versa. The research base and the growth in evidence to support nursing in the community has developed dramatically over the past two decades such that we now have good evidence that nurses can support self-care in the community, prescribe safely, promote health and prevent illness and that health care provision through home visiting, nurse-led clinics and case-management are effective.
     In 1993, International Conferences in Community Health Nursing Research (ICCHNR) was established as an organisation that could enable a worldwide network of community health nurses to disseminate their research, share findings and promote better health care in the community through evidence based practice. International events have been held in Canada (1993), Scotland (1997), Japan (2006) and next in Granada, Spain - October 4-5th 2007. These events have successfully brought nurses working in the community together from all the WHO Regions of the world and provided worldwide global exchange. Whilst recognising the geographical and cultural distinctiveness of different nations, it has been vitally important to recognise that today's health care needs are shared globally. Issues such as aging, chronic illness and co-morbidity, obesity, teenage pregnancy, substance misuse, infectious diseases (especially HIV/AIDS and pandemic influenza) are  health problems that concern all nations and where community nursing has an increasingly important role.
     The event in Granada will specifically provide an opportunity to look in depth at the concept of transition in society and how community nursing interfaces with a range of transitions. For example, the transition from childhood to adolescence and adulthood, transition from wellness to long term ill health, transition from hospital to home, transition from one country to another and from one social role to another and the transitions that nursing roles themselves inhabit, for example the transition from generalist to specialist nurse. What is the contribution of community health nursing to these important turning points? How effective are community nursing interventions and how should we measure them? What is the patient experience of  transition and how should community nurses respond? These are just some of the timely and profound questions that the symposium in Granada intends to address for the benefit of our communities, the people that live within them and the nursing profession. We hope that as many community nurses as possible will come to Granada in October and take part in this unique event.

RECURSOS CUIDEN

RECURSOS CIBERINDEX

FUNDACION INDEX

GRUPOS DE INVESTIGACION

¿Quiénes somos?
RICO Red de Centros Colaboradores
Convenios
Casa de Mágina
MINERVA Jóvenes investigadores
Publicaciones
Consultoría